Haiku 071009

she flits among
the rose bushes next --
butterflies

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Recently we read the following:

New York Times: "U.S. Considers Curbs on Speculative Trading of Oil" by Edmund L. Andrews

“Reacting to the violent swings in oil prices in recent months, federal regulators announced on Tuesday that they were considering new restrictions on “speculative” traders in markets for oil, natural gas and other energy products…

“Since Mr. Obama took office, the Justice Department has stepped up antitrust enforcement activities, abandoning many legal doctrines adopted by the Bush administration…

“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it would consider imposing volume limits on trading of energy futures by purely financial investors and that it already has adopted tougher information requirements aimed at identifying the role of hedge funds and traders who swap contracts outside of regulated exchanges like the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“ “My firm belief is that we must aggressively use all existing authorities to ensure market integrity,’ said Gary Gensler, chairman of the commission, in a statement. He said regulators would also examine whether to impose federal ‘speculative limits’ on futures contracts for energy products…

“Mr. Gensler appears focused on two basic goals. The first is to limit the volume of trading by purely financial investors, the “speculators,” as opposed to businesses like airlines or oil companies that consume or produce oil and want to minimize their exposure to big changes in price…”

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And we thought:

…To ordinary consumers, moderating the oil speculators’ feeding frenzy at this time will be a welcome move. Already financially-burdened households need some relief from rising gas and energy costs and their effects on the price of consumer goods. The industries that use oil products heavily need some relief, too. Long-term goals before short-term gains...